Using the Colorado Jumbo 250 Tape Backup with Windows NT

• Microsoft Windows NT operating system version 3.1
• Microsoft Windows NT Advanced Server version 3.1

SUMMARY

This article contains information and issues associated with using the Colorado Jumbo 250 Tape Backup System with Windows NT and the Windows NT Backup program.

MORE INFORMATION

The following are known issues using the Colorado Jumbo 250 Tape Backup System with Windows NT:

No Tape Exchange Between Windows NT Backup and Colorado's Backup

Colorado's Backup software format is not compatible with Windows NT Backup's tape format. You will not be able to restore a tape using Windows NT Backup's Restore function that was originally backed up using Colorado's Backup software. You must reformat your tapes with Windows NT Backup for use with Windows NT. Also, you will not be able to restore a tape using Colorado's Restore function that was originally backed up using Windows NT Backup.

Windows NT Backup utilizes Microsoft Tape Format (MTF) as its native format. MTF has several advantages over the QIC-40 and QIC-80 system, such as built-in security which will not allow unauthorized access or unauthorized restoration of data to other computers, without having the correct password and permissions. MTF also provides the ability to catalog backed-up data to quickly restore data based on special criteria, such as time, date, file size, and set.

For more information on MTF, query on the following words in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   mtf and tape and format

Hardware and Software Data Compression is Not Supported

Windows NT Backup supports only the native capacity of the tape. Thus, a Jumbo 250 tape has a maximum capacity of 125 megabytes (MB) when used with Windows NT Backup.

NOTE: Data compression can be supported by either software (Colorado's Backup software) or hardware (Colorado's TC-15 and TC-15M controllers - see the following).

Windows NT Does Not Support the FC-10 or TC-15/TC-15M Controllers

Technical Note 36 (page 35) in the Windows NT Hardware Compatibility List states that all QIC-40/QIC-80 Floppy Tape Drives are supported using the floppy controller. Separate interface controllers for these types of drives are not supported by Windows NT.

The Jumbo 250 is a QIC-80 (or Ximat) tape drive that connects to the floppy controller in a standard configuration. This configuration makes the drive's data transfer rate directly dependent on the speed of the computer's floppy controller. Most floppy controllers operate at a rate of 2 MB to 5 MB a minute.

NOTE: The Colorado Memory Systems tape controllers have a transfer rate ranging from 1 megabit (Mb) per second to 500 kilobits (Kb) per second, which is twice the speed of an AT floppy controller. The TC-15 and TC-15M controllers also have a hardware data compression feature.

The products included here are manufactured by Colorado Memory Systems, Inc.; a vendor independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding these products' performance or reliability.

REFERENCES

Colorado Backup User Guide Jumbo Tape Backup System Hardware Guide